Apter Outlook Part III: Eagles

Eagles: It has truly been a love/hate relationship between Donovan McNabb and the city of Philadelphia. Without a doubt, he will be known as one of the greatest QBs in Eagles history, but is it time to move on? I am still debating the fact of whether or not Kevin Kolb is ready. It is tough to judge by starts this year when Donovan was hurt but had a quarterback rating

of 88.9, completed 64.6% of his passes for 741 yards and threw for four touchdowns and three picks. This is a far cry from the McNabb benching last season and it showed that he has indeed matured. Kolb has also shown to be very professional about the spot he is in and how the Eagles dealth with Vick this year as well. Kolb deserves a chance to start but it remains to be seen whether or not Reid will shift his allegiance. With Reid in the helm for at least a fe w more years, it looks like Donovan could start next season as the number one man but on a short leash. Kolb has waited this long and I believe his chance is right around the corner. As for Vick, he showed everyone this year that he is just as human as anybody. He played through mistakes and errors and ended up having an impressive showing with a touchdown pass against the Cowboys. He will more than likely not be in midnight green next year and rumors say that the Rams are interested in his services. Also, he has recently been linked to some steroid talks. It's as if the saga never ends. In my opinion, I do not think that the wildcat was as much or a success as anyone would have thought or hoped but it shows promise with DeSean Jackson. The receivers this year were a step up from previous years with Jackson taking in his role as a play maker and scoring touchdowns on offense and special teams. The future is bright for him and he provides that cockyness and enthusiastic attitude which is what this team needs. Maclin has shown a lot of promise even though his injuries kept him out a lot but the duo of him and Jackson could prove deadly in coming years. the only down side to this is the birds still lack that big receiver to throw the ball to in the end zone. Brent Celek has sometimes provided that firepower but a tall receiver should be on the wish list. Celek made so many clutch plays this year and he is evolving into one NFL's top tight ends.
On the defense, the linebacking injuries plagued the team all season. That combined with the lack of good tackles eventually became their downfall. Also, they do not have that big man to rush on the outside. It seems they rely too much on speed on defense but some big defensive linemen could add pressure to the opposing quarterback and lessen the pressure on the depleted secondary. Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown did alright this year but Samuel has to realize that throwing his body at someone is not the way to tackle. The defense has a lot of spots to improve and hopefully this will be addressed in the offseason with a defensive linemen and possibly a young linebacker to keep us from bringing guys out of retirement.

APTER THOUGHTS: This team has a lot of decisions to make in the coming months. In my opinion, it is time to give Kolb the nod. He showed he can perform in big situations and McNabb has had enough time to try and bring us a championship. With Kolb under center, I believe this team will turn over a new leaf to a better future. As for the Superbowl, I have the Colts over the Saints 31-24. I also hope that Brett Favre finally calls it a career.

Stay tuned to the Sports Port for the final part of Apter Outlook, where the Phillies take center stage....coming on Thursday, Jan. 26.